In the last few revisions of the MacBook and MacBook Pro, Apple has replaced the legacy ports with USB-C ports which some think is forward thinking and others complain that their devices don’t connect. Last fall, when the last MacBook Pros were announced, I was eyeing one, but ultimately decided against buying one. However, when Apple had a sale on the dongles to placate people, I thought about what I would need for my next computer. I bought a USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adapter and a USB-C to USB-A adapter.
Fast forward to last month when Apple announced the 2017 MacBook Pros and I decided that it was time to replace my almost 5 year old MacBook Pro. I again, had the option to purchase dongles, but decided the 2 I had were all that I would need. My current setup is 2 27″ Thunderbolt displays that each have 3 USB-A ports, FireWire 800 and a Thunderbolt port. With only the USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, I’m able to hook up my MacBook Pro to 1 display (second display is daisy chained) and all my devices work. When I travel, I can bring the USB-C to USB-A adapter in case I need to use a card reader.
While I may not be typical in my setup, basically 2 dongles are all I need to make my new computer hook up to all my legacy devices; this is really no big deal. Next year, however, when/if Apple releases its own displays again, they will unlikely have legacy ports. At that time, I’ll get a few USB-C to USB-B cables for my scanner and hard drive dock and a few USB-C to USB-A adapters to hook my Lightning cables; total cost for all this will be maybe $30 and the cables/dongles will always be plugged into the display. Nothing to lose and a minor cost to move forward.
I’m not sure why there was so much uproar in the Mac community about getting rid of legacy ports; to me this is a much smaller deal (if any) than moving from 30 pin to Lightning because of the shear number of devices and cables I have lying around the house.
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